David Niven

The debonair English actor who won an Oscar for Separate Tables.

James David Graham Niven was an English actor, soldier, and author born on 1 March 1910 in London.^[1][2]

Last updated 2026-09-30 from the source article.

Quick Facts

Birth name: James David Graham Niven
Born: 1 March 1910
Birthplace: Victoria, London, England
Died: 29 July 1983
Place of death: Château-d'Œx, Switzerland
Resting place: Château-d'Œx Cemetery
Education: Heatherdown Preparatory School; Stowe School
Alma mater: Royal Military College, Sandhurst

Life and work

His mother remarried in 1917 to Sir Thomas Walter Comyn-Platt, whom Niven and his sister Grizel both loathed.^[3] He ended the war as a lieutenant-colonel and received the Legion of Merit for his work setting up the BBC Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme.^[4][5] William Edward Graham Niven, David's father, died on 21 August 1915 while serving with the Berkshire Yeomanry in the Gallipoli campaign of the First World War.^[6] On 6 September 1933, Niven left his commission behind to start an acting career.^[7]

Niven was the commanding officer of "A" Squadron within the GHQ Liaison Regiment, which was called "Phantom", and on 14 March 1944 he achieved the rank of war-substantive major.^[8][9][5]

What the cited sources add

A 2020 article notes that Niven's childhood home Rose Cottage on the Isle of Wight was put up for sale.^[10] The same article states that Niven's mother built an extension called the "Sin Wing" so her teenage sons could have space.^[10] That article also recounts that Peter Ustinov had to pose as Niven's batman during the war due to their rank difference.^[5] The 2016 article describes Niven's long estrangement from producer Goldwyn in the 1950s over money and a film dispute.^[5]

A 2016 article notes that Niven's Film Unit contributed to a deception scheme where actor M.E. Clifton James impersonated Sir Bernard Montgomery.^[5]

References

Wikipedia, "David Niven" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Niven, (James) David Graham (1910–1983), actor and author", 2004; "Obituaries", The Times, 30 July 1983 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "David Niven" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Morley, "David Niven, Brief Lives", Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 413 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "David Niven" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "1917 – David Niven's mother marries Thomas Comyn Platt", hjordisniven.com, 17 December 2017 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "David Niven" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; "Recommendation for Award for Niven, John David Rank: Lieutenant Colonel", DocumentsOnline; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
"David Niven was the only British star in Hollywood to enlist during WWII", 18 August 2016. facts only, no text reused. thevintagenews.com
Wikipedia, "David Niven" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Casualty details—Niven, William Edward Graham", Commonwealth War Graves Commission (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "David Niven" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "David Niven" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Quarterly Army List (October–December 1943: Part II)", HM Stationery Office, 1943, p. 1368b (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "David Niven" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Quarterly Army List (April–June 1945: Part II)", HM Stationery Office, 1945, p. 1368b (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
"David Niven's idyllic childhood home comes up for sale: 'I adored it and was happier there than I had ever been'", 23 January 2020. facts only, no text reused. countrylife.co.uk

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article David Niven (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.